Americans United - LGBT rightshttps://www.au.org/tags/lgbt-rights
enInsane Initiative: Calif. Attorney General Balks At Certifying ‘Kill The Gays’ Ballot Questionhttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/insane-initiative-calif-attorney-general-balks-at-certifying-kill-the-gays
<a href="/about/people/ms-sarah-jones">Sarah Jones</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">As attorney general, she is currently required to draft a title and summary for the measure – even though the initiative in question would authorize the execution of gay people. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>California Attorney General Kamala Harris has moved to block a ballot measure that would legalize vigilante violence against the state’s LGBT community. Harris has asked a state court to grant her the authority to prevent the measure from becoming eligible for a public vote.</p><p>As attorney general, she is currently required to draft a title and summary for the measure – even though the initiative in question would authorize the execution of gay people.</p><p>In an interview with the Sacramento <em>Bee</em>, Harris <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article16304408.html">roundly condemned</a> the measure.</p><p>“This is not about whether we like something or not, or whether we simply find it offensive or troubling,” Harris said. “In this case, we are talking about a proposal that literally is calling for violence. It’s calling for vigilantism. It’s calling for the public to be able to shoot in the head a member of the LGBT community. I, frankly, do not want to be in the position of giving any legitimacy to those words.”</p><p>The so-called “<a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/american-isis-christian-reconstructionists-and-biblical-law-in-america">Sodomite Suppression Act</a>,” proposed by Huntington Beach, Calif., attorney Matt McLaughlin, refers to same-sex orientations as “a monstrous evil.” It goes on to declare that “…the People of California wisely command, in the fear of God, that any person who willingly touches another person of the same gender for purposes of sexual gratification be put to death by bullets to the head or by any other convenient method.”</p><p>It would also ban the distribution of “sodomistic propaganda,” prohibit LGBT people from holding public office, and if passed, could not be overturned by anything but a quorum of the California Supreme Court – as long as the justices weren’t gay. Its extreme language earned comparisons to Uganda’s infamous <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/03/01/uganda-s-kill-the-gays-bill-is-back.html">“kill the gays” bill</a>, and Russia’s ban on <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/11/elton-john-russia-gay-rights-concert-_n_6141846.html">“gay propaganda.”</a></p><p>McLaughlin, a <a href="http://www.lawyer.com/matthew-mclaughlin.html">graduate</a> of George Mason University’s law school, must be aware that his proposal is unconstitutional, but this also isn’t the first time he’s taken advantage of California’s lax ballot proposal rules to push an extremist agenda. The Los Angeles <em>Times </em><a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-anti-gay-measure-20150324-story.html">reports</a> that in 2004, he proposed a measure that would have allowed public school teachers to use the Bible as a textbook.<br /><br />“Even if you don’t believe its teachings, you’ll agree that it includes rich usage of the English language,” he told the <em>Times.</em></p><p>There’s little other public information available on McLaughlin, and he hasn’t issued any sort of statement to defend his proposal. His Bible initiative failed, and so will his latest theocratic initiative, even if Harris doesn’t receive permission to block it.</p><p>And it’s possible she won’t. The state’s peculiar ballot proposal laws don’t afford her many options, and that’s motivated legislators to propose a permanent solution. Right now, anyone can pay $200 and propose a ballot initiative – even one this deranged.<br /><br />“Mr. McLaughlin's immoral proposal is just the latest – and most egregious – example of the need to further reform the initiative process,” Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) told the <em>Times</em>. Low and his colleagues have suggested raising the proposal fee from $200 to $8,000, which would make it much more difficult for individuals like McLaughlin to take advantage of the process.</p><p>But critics note that would also harm individuals filing proposals on behalf of legitimate grassroots campaigns; increasing the price of democratic participation isn’t an easy sell. Perhaps there is a better way to go: Give state officials the power to ban proposals that call for violence or that would require the state to do patently unconstitutional and illegal things. (If there’s a doubt, let the courts sort it out.)</p><p>McLaughlin’s proposal, doomed as it is, shocks. It is therefore useful: It reminds casual observers that protecting marginalized groups is a high-stakes matter. That’s not news to members of the LGBT community, of course, but for those outside it, it’s a timely lesson in exactly how deep anti-gay prejudice still runs.</p><p>Discriminatory beliefs have real world consequences, and should never have the force of law -- <a href="http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/25/gov-mike-pence-sign-religious-freedom-bill-thursday/70448858/?hootPostID=%5b%277a11431f9389670e1ede8828009795fe%27%5d">even when they’re non-violent</a>. </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/marriage-including-same-sex-marriage">Marriage (including same-sex Marriage)</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/california">California</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/kamala-harris">Kamala Harris</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/lgbt-rights">LGBT rights</a></span></div></div>Thu, 26 Mar 2015 16:25:45 +0000Ms. Sarah Jones10980 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/insane-initiative-calif-attorney-general-balks-at-certifying-kill-the-gays#commentsTraditional Failures: Fundamentalist View Of Marriage Still Out Of Touchhttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/traditional-failures-fundamentalist-view-of-marriage-still-out-of-touch
<a href="/about/people/ms-sarah-jones">Sarah Jones</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Yesterday evening, NPR’s “All Things Considered” took a look at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and its push for early marriages. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>A <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/03/09/support-for-gay-marriage-hits-all-time-high-wsjnbc-news-poll/">new poll</a> shows that support for marriage equality is at an all-time high: It’s at 59 percent, in fact. The U.S. Supreme Court is going to take the matter up next month, and many feel that no matter what the high court says, same-sex marriage is inevitable.</p><p>But as the state of Alabama recently demonstrated to the nation, the Religious Right isn’t quite prepared to accept defeat; they battle on in the name of “traditional marriage.”<br /><br />But what exactly do they mean by “traditional marriage?”</p><p>Yesterday evening, NPR’s “All Things Considered” took a look at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and its push for early marriages. This push continues <a href="https://contemporaryfamilies.org/marrying-at-older-ages/">despite growing consensus</a> that falling divorce rates are <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/02/upshot/the-divorce-surge-is-over-but-the-myth-lives-on.html?_r=1&amp;abt=0002&amp;abg=0">directly connected</a> to rising marital ages. The U.S. divorce race, which used to be 50 percent, has been dropping, and studies show that marriages that last tend to be conducted at later ages.</p><p>That data should be good news to opponents of marriage equality, who like to insist that marriage is something of a moral bedrock; the World Congress of Families (WCF), a U.S.-based outfit that spreads anti-gay antipathy around the world, <a href="https://www.heartland.org/sites/all/modules/custom/heartland_migration/files/pdfs/17267.pdf">calls marriage</a> “the fundamental unit of society.”</p><p>The SBC, whose Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) <a href="http://worldcongress.org/sponsors.htm">partners with the WCF</a>, promotes a similar view. Albert Mohler, frequent SBC mouthpiece and president of the denomination’s Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, <a href="http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/10/04/two-is-better-than-one-who-knew/">once called marriage</a> “one of the greatest gifts God has given his human creatures.”</p><p>Despite this support for marriage, social conservatives (including Southern Baptists) are reluctant to accept that marrying later might be the key to success, and the push for early marriage continues unabated. The ERLC’s Andrew Walker, married at 21, explained his support for the practice to NPR.</p><p>“The reality is, starting at the age of 12, 13, boys and men, growing up into maturity, are hardwired for something that God gave us a desire for and an outlet for. And so to suppress that becomes more difficult the older you get,” he said.</p><p>The solution, according to Walker, is to marry young. Many lay Southern Baptists agree.</p><p>“There’s this thinking of you’ve gotta have these things all lined up financially before you can get married, and then the next step before you can have children and before you can do this,” a retired pastor told NPR. “But financial stability is not the main issue of life.”</p><p>To sum up the SBC position: Young people need to get married because it’s preferable to having pre-marital sex, and it’s OK to get married (and have children) even if you’re not in a good financial position.</p><p>That’s a recipe guaranteed to get the divorce rate back up.</p><p>There isn’t universal support for this position, as NPR discovered. “I don't necessarily think it’s better to be single, but I do think we run the risk, including myself, of idolizing marriage and children,” Lindsay Swartz, an unmarried Southern Baptist, told the station.</p><p>Marital age is not, of course, a First Amendment issue. People of legal age are free to marry when they choose, and it’s certainly true that many early marriages have been and will continue to be successful. But this something more than a philosophical difference.</p><p>Fundamentalist groups like the SBC have agitated for the ability to legally enforce their dogmatic views on human sexuality and relationships. By positioning itself as a gatekeeper of the definition of marriage, and by actively opposing legal civil rights for LGBT people, the SBC’s views on the issue deserve intense and critical public scrutiny.</p><p>The SBC also promotes the doctrine of “complementarianism,” a complicated name for a very old idea: That women are <a href="http://www.sbclife.net/articles/1998/05/sla5">designed to submit to men</a> and that their highest calling, if not their only calling, is to remain in the home.</p><p>And forget family planning. SBC officials have also come out swinging against birth control. In a <a href="http://www.christianpost.com/news/can-christians-use-birth-control-76132/">2012 op-ed</a>, Mohler incorrectly referred to intra-uterine devices as “abortifacients” and encouraged readers to “reject the contraceptive mentality.” Dr. Thomas White, now the president of my own alma mater, Cedarville University, <a href="https://www.baptiststandard.com/news/faith-culture/16187-southern-baptist-attitudes-changing-on-birth-control">called birth control</a> “wrong” and informed students at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary that some birth control pills result in “the murder of a life.”</p><p>It’s becoming ever clearer that their views on marriage are drastically out of step with conventional opinion – and with fact. NPR’s piece is a timely reminder that this outdated and sexist definition of marriage belongs in sermons, not laws. </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/marriage-including-same-sex-marriage">Marriage (including same-sex Marriage)</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/albert-mohler">Albert Mohler</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/thomas-white">Thomas White</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-baptist-theological-seminary">Southern Baptist Theological Seminary</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southwestern-baptist-theological-seminary">Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/cedarville-university">Cedarville University</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/marriage">marriage</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/lgbt-rights">LGBT rights</a></span></div></div>Wed, 11 Mar 2015 16:12:14 +0000Ms. Sarah Jones10950 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/traditional-failures-fundamentalist-view-of-marriage-still-out-of-touch#commentsCivil Rights Organizations Ask Federal Court In Alabama To Order Freedom To Marry Statewidehttps://www.au.org/media/press-releases/civil-rights-organizations-ask-federal-court-in-alabama-to-order-freedom-to
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>MOBILE, Ala. -- A group of leading national civil rights organizations today filed a motion asking a federal district court to expand a lawsuit challenging Alabama’s ban on same-sex marriage and to order all county probate judges in the state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.<br /><br />The <a href="https://au.org/files/pdf_documents/2015-03-06_Strawser.pdf" target="_blank">joint motion</a> was filed by the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Southern Poverty Law Center.<br /><br />The request, filed as part of a lawsuit brought by five same-sex couples who previously obtained an order from the same court requiring issuance of marriage licenses in Mobile County, seeks class-action status that would include all same-sex couples in Alabama who wish to marry and have their marriage recognized by the state.<br /><br />The motion requests that the federal district court expand their lawsuit to cover all county probate judges in the state. In Alabama, probate judges are responsible for issuing marriage licenses. Today’s filing requests the federal district court order to require all probate judges to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.<br /><br />The Alabama Supreme Court on Tuesday halted same-sex marriages in the state despite the U.S Supreme Court’s refusal to stay a lower court’s decision invalidating the ban.<br /><br />“If Alabama officials thought we were going to sit back and allow them to deny same-sex couples their constitutional right to marry, they thought wrong,” said Ayesha N. Khan, legal director of Americans United. “We are going to fight for these couples.”<br /><br />Susan Watson, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama, added, “Alabama needs to be on the right side of history. Marriage equality is coming to all 50 states. We will not give up the fight until marriage equality exists for all.”<br /><br />David Dinielli, deputy legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Center said: “Fair-minded people of Alabama don’t want obstruction. They want progress. Couples in all 67 counties of this state should have the freedom to marry. The United States Constitution protects all of us, including those in Alabama, no matter the opinion of the Alabama Supreme Court. Marriage equality has taken hold in Alabama. We promise you that we are not going back and we are not leaving anyone behind.”<br /><br />NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter agreed: “Alabama couples deserve the security and protection that marriage provides. We hope that the court will act quickly to provide certainty to couples throughout the state and establish once and for all that Alabama’s same-sex couples have the freedom to marry.”<br /><br />Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Callie V. Granade declared unconstitutional two Alabama provisions banning same-sex marriages. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court subsequently declined to stay Granade’s ruling. Most counties in Alabama began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples last month following Judge Granade’s orders.<br /><br />But some county probate judges, who are responsible for issuing marriage licenses, refused to grant licenses to same-sex couples. The matter was further clouded March 4 when the Alabama Supreme Court ordered probate judges to stop issuing licenses to same-sex couples.<br /><br />Today’s request by the organizations, filed in Strawser v. Strange, asks Judge Granade to apply her previous orders declaring Alabama’s marriage ban unconstitutional to all county probate judges in Alabama and require them to resume issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.<br /> </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/marriage-including-same-sex-marriage">Marriage (including same-sex Marriage)</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/alabama">Alabama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/lgbt-rights">LGBT rights</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/same-sex-marriage">same-sex marriage</a></span></div></div>Fri, 06 Mar 2015 22:34:54 +0000Timothy Ritz10945 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/media/press-releases/civil-rights-organizations-ask-federal-court-in-alabama-to-order-freedom-to#commentsFreedom Of Religion And Same-Sex Marriage Can Co-Exist, Americans United Tells Supreme Courthttps://www.au.org/media/press-releases/freedom-of-religion-and-same-sex-marriage-can-co-exist-americans-united-tells
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Millions of gay and lesbian Americans should not be denied the right to marry because of false arguments raised about religious liberty, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.<br /><br />Americans United today is filing <a href="https://au.org/files/pdf_documents/14-556_tsac_AmericansUnited.pdf" target="_blank">a friend-of-the-court brief</a> before the Supreme Court in a group of cases challenging the constitutionality of state bans on same-sex marriage. Opponents of marriage equality have argued that legalization of these unions will spawn conflicts with religious liberty.<br /><br />Americans United’s brief in Obergefell v. Hodges rejects this argument.<br /><br />“That some people have religious objections to others’ exercise of a fundamental right or entitlement to equal treatment under the law has never been thought a valid reason for wholly denying any recognition of constitutional protections,” asserts the brief. “Moreover, many of the feared conflicts between religious liberty and recognition of a same-sex marriage right are chimerical.”<br /><br />The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United, said the brief plays an important role by debunking a common Religious Right assertion about marriage equality.</p><p>“The idea that the country must choose between religious freedom and marriage equality is a false dichotomy put forth by the Religious Right,” Lynn said. “We can have both, and I’m confident that we will.”</p><p>The brief also argues that U.S. law and court rulings provide a roadmap for protecting both the rights of religious opponents of same-sex marriage and gay couples who wish to marry.<br /><br />Precisely because the wide diversity of religious views means that some people may have sincere religious objections to others’ exercise of fundamental rights or to equal treatment, the U.S. Constitution, state constitutions, and many federal and state statutes provide mechanisms for protecting these important parallel interests,” the brief maintains. “Especially given this existing framework for addressing these competing values, the potential for conflict with religious beliefs is not a valid reason to withhold or delay the recognition of important rights and protections, including the right to marry.”<br /><br />Americans United Associate Legal Director Alex J. Luchenitser added, “Allowing gay and lesbian people to marry those whom they love would pose no threat to religious freedom. Rather, it would vindicate fundamental values at the heart of our Constitution.”</p><p>The brief was drafted by Charles Rothfeld, Miriam R. Nemetz and Richard B. Katskee of the Supreme Court &amp; Appellate practice group of the international law firm Mayer Brown LLP, with input from Americans United Legal Director Ayesha N. Khan and Luchenitser. </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-free-exercise-issues-including-rfras-zoning-etc">Other Free Exercise Issues (including RFRAs, zoning, etc.)</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/marriage-including-same-sex-marriage">Marriage (including same-sex Marriage)</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/lgbt-rights">LGBT rights</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/freedom-religion">Freedom of Religion</a></span></div></div><h3 >Church-State Watchdog Group Urges High Court To Reject Claims That Marriage Equality Threatens Religious&nbsp;Liberty</h3>Fri, 06 Mar 2015 15:55:14 +0000Timothy Ritz10942 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/media/press-releases/freedom-of-religion-and-same-sex-marriage-can-co-exist-americans-united-tells#commentsAla. Chief Justice Urges Defiance Of Same-Sex Marriage Rulinghttps://www.au.org/church-state/march-2015-church-state/people-events/ala-chief-justice-urges-defiance-of-same-sex
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>An infamous Alabama jurist’s pledge of defiance on legalized same-sex marriage has landed him in hot water.</p><p>In January, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who lost his job in 2003 over his refusal to remove a Decalogue display from a courthouse, wrote to Gov. Robert Bentley and urged him to continue to deny same-sex couples the right to marry, even though a federal court struck down the state’s ban on such marriages.</p><p>In his letter to Bentley, Moore insisted that the state of Alabama is free to ignore rulings by federal courts.</p><p>“As Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, I will continue to recognize the Alabama Constitution and the will of the people overwhelmingly expressed in the Sanctity of Marriage Amendment,” Moore wrote. “If we are to preserve that ‘reverent morality which is our source of all beneficent progress in social and political improvement,’ then we must act to oppose such tyranny!”</p><p>Moore’s words drew the ire of Americans United, which sent a letter to Bentley, noting that Moore’s statements were not just obviously incorrect but also offensive.</p><p>“Justice Moore’s Tenth-Amendment-nullification arguments are relics straight from the Civil War, embraced only by inhabitants of the deranged right-wing fever-swamps in which the Justice has mired himself,” AU’s letter stated. “Even a first-year law student knows that the requirements of the U.S. Constitution trump state law, and you would do well to disregard the Chief Justice’s ramblings.”</p><p>Said Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn: “As usual, Roy Moore doesn’t know what he’s talking about. His interpretation of the U.S. Constitution is based on wishful thinking; it has no basis in reality.”</p><p>Americans United has tangled with Moore in court before and won. In 2001, Americans United, the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) sued Moore after he erected a Ten Commandments monument at the state Judicial Building in Montgomery.</p><p>A federal court struck down the display in 2002, a ruling that was later upheld by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Moore attempted to defy the ruling and lost his seat for it. (He was reelected as chief justice of the state high court in 2012.)</p><p>“The last time we fought Roy Moore in court, he relied on arguments based on his bizarre legal theories and lost badly,” said Ayesha N. Khan, legal director of Americans United. “The state suffered great embarrassment and had to pay hefty legal fees. I’m confident that Gov. Bentley doesn’t want to go through all of that again.”</p><p>Added Khan, “In 1963, Gov. George Wallace stood in the doorway of a public university in an effort to block racial integration. In 2015, Moore apparently believes Gov. Bentley should stand in the doorway of a county courthouse to block same-sex marriage. The governor should make it clear that he has no intention of taking bad advice from Roy Moore.” </p><p>Moore’s antics also drew an ethics complaint from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The group filed a complaint with the Judicial Inquiry Commission of Alabama, which could result in Moore facing ethics charges before the Alabama Court of the Judiciary – the same court that removed him from the bench more than 10 years ago.</p><p>“Moore is once again wrapping himself in the Bible and thumbing his nose at the federal courts and federal law,” said SPLC President Richard Cohen. “As a private citizen, Moore is entitled to his views. But as the chief justice of Alabama, he has a responsibility to recognize the supremacy of federal law and to conform his conduct to the canons of judicial ethics.”</p><p>On Feb. 9, same-sex marriage became legal in Alabama. The day before, Moore issued a directive to all county probate judges ordering them not to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. Although some of the judges in the state’s 67 counties ignored Moore, judicial officials in at least a dozen counties announced that they would comply with the chief justice and turned away same-sex couples. Americans United and other groups considered litigation.</p><p>Attorneys with Americans United on Feb. 11 warned probate judges in Baldwin, Barbour, Houston and Lauderdale counties that they must cease denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples. AU acted on behalf of four same-sex couples who sought marriage licenses but were denied.</p><p>“[Y]our obligation to comply with the federal Constitution – which has now been interpreted to forbid discrimination against same-sex couples with respect to the issuance of marriage licenses – must take precedence over any contrary state laws or obligations,” read a letter AU sent to the judges.</p><p>The letter noted that Moore has no authority to override a federal court ruling.(The situation remained unresolved as this issue of <em>Church &amp; State </em>went to press.)</p><p>In related news, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee called on lawmakers in states that have newly legalized same-sex marriage following court rulings to find ways to resist issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.</p><p>“Rather than just immediately capitulate to nine people in robes, and what it will probably be is five people in robes against four people who disagree … then you have a very, very divided court,” he said on <em>USA Today</em>’s “Capital Download.” “Do we really surrender the entire American system of government to five people, unelected, appointed for life, with no consequences for the decisions they make? The founders never intended for there to be such incredible, almost unlimited power, put in the hands of so few people.”</p></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">People &amp; Events</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/marriage-including-same-sex-marriage">Marriage (including same-sex Marriage)</a></span></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-issue field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Magazine Issue:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><article id="node-10903" class="node node-church-state-issue clearfix">
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The <span class="cs-month field">March</span> <span class="cs-year field"><span class="date-display-single">2015</span></span> issue of <em>Church &amp; State</em>
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<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/featured/same-sex-showdown">Same-Sex Showdown</a></h3>
<h4>Supreme Court Accepts Marriage- Equality Cases In What’s Shaping Up To Be An Epic ‘Culture War’ Battle</h4> </div>
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<h4>Courts Have Tended To Uphold ‘Ceremonial’ Uses Of Religion By The Government, But Critics Say It’s Time To Reassess</h4> </div>
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</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/roy-moore">Roy Moore</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/alabama">Alabama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/same-sex-marriage">same-sex marriage</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/lgbt-rights">LGBT rights</a></span></div></div>Mon, 02 Mar 2015 15:16:53 +0000Timothy Ritz10919 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/church-state/march-2015-church-state/people-events/ala-chief-justice-urges-defiance-of-same-sex#commentsSame-Sex Showdownhttps://www.au.org/church-state/march-2015-church-state/featured/same-sex-showdown
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Two days after the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will hear a slew of cases concerning marriage equality, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins appeared on the Fox News Channel to offer some thoughts. They weren’t very original.</p><p>“If we take down the states’ rights to define marriage for public-policy purposes – if two people who love each other can get married – I guess Ted’s OK with a story out of <em>New York</em> magazine this week that an 18-year-old daughter wants to marry her biological father,” asserted Perkins.</p><p>The “Ted” Perkins referred to was Theodore Olson, former U.S. solicitor general who has argued successfully in court on behalf of marriage equality. Olson did not find the comparison convincing.</p><p>"I mean, it’s very easy to say the sky is going to fall,” Olson remarked. “We’re now talking about something that’s permitted in 36 states – or 37, depending on South Dakota last week – and the District of Columbia. No harm whatsoever has been done to heterosexual marriage as a result.”</p><p>The exchange was something of a microcosm for the long-running debate over same-sex marriage. Olson calmly discussed things like the 14th Amendment and the role of the courts in upholding core rights. Perkins blathered about incest.</p><p>Although the argument is likely to be more reasoned at the Supreme Court, the debate in the court of public opinion will probably continue to be heated and emotional. And for the Religious Right, the stakes are very high.</p><p>Members of that theocratic movement have seen a steady erosion of support for their position. Massachusetts was the first state to authorize same-sex marriage in 2004. In the 11 years since then, the country has seen a seismic shift of public opinion on the matter. Polls now show majority support for marriage equality nationwide, and among younger residents, the polls are lopsided in favor of marriage equality.</p><p>Attitudes are changing even in Bible Belt states. In Alabama, a recent poll showed a 50-50 split.</p><p>The conservative Supreme Court has been inching toward an embrace of marriage equality. In a pair of rulings from 2013, the high court struck down a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law that in part defined marriage for federal purposes as an arrangement between one man and one woman; the court also allowed a lower court ruling invalidating Prop. 8, a California ban on same-sex marriage, to stand.</p><p>But in those rulings the high court did not affirmatively state that same-sex marriage must be permitted nationwide. However, lower federal courts quickly interpreted the high court’s actions that way and began striking down state-imposed bans on same-sex marriage.</p><p>The practice is now legal in a majority of states, and, until recently, marriage equality had won a string of rulings in federal appeals courts.</p><p>That changed in November when the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld same-sex marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. That ruling conflicted with others, creating a split and inviting Supreme Court intervention.</p><p>The high court accepted that invitation the afternoon of Jan. 16. In a brief order, the court announced it will hear arguments in the four cases from the 6th Circuit. The quartet of legal challenges will be consolidated into one case that will most likely carry the name of the Ohio ruling – <em>Obergefell v. Hodges. </em></p><p>In its order, the high court said arguments will be limited to two questions: Does the 14th Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex? And does the 14th Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed in another state? (Passed in the post-Civil War era, the 14th Amendment, among other things, guarantees “equal protection of the laws” for all citizens.)</p><p>Americans United issued a statement urging the justices to resolve the issue by applying the separation of church and state. For too long, AU opined, the issue of marriage equality has been bogged down by religious fundamentalists making explicitly sectarian arguments that appeal to the Bible or dictates by church leaders.</p><p>“At times, the discussion over marriage equality in this country has sounded more like a debate among medieval clerics than deliberations in a modern, secular democracy,” said Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn. “Opponents of same-sex marriage too often point to holy books and pronouncements by religious leaders to make their case. That might fly in a theocracy, but it should have no weight in America.”</p><p>Not surprisingly, Religious Right groups felt differently. The American Family Association went so far as to issue a press release demanding that Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan recuse themselves from the case because both of them have presided at same-sex weddings.</p><p>“Both of these justices’ personal and private actions that actively endorse gay marriage clearly indicate how they would vote on same-sex marriage cases before the Supreme Court,” blustered AFA President Tim Wildmon. “Both Kagan and Ginsburg have not only been partial to same-sex marriage but they have also proven themselves to be activists in favor of it.”</p><p>Kagan presided at a Maryland same-sex ceremony in September 2014, and Ginsburg did the same in Washington D.C., in August 2013. Same-sex marriage was legal in both jurisdictions at the time.</p><p>The AFA also praised Roy Moore, chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, who wrote a letter to Gov. Robert Bentley insisting that the state can ignore the U.S. Supreme Court, should it rule in favor of same-sex marriage. (See “People &amp; Events” for more on this.)</p><p>How will the court rule? There’s no shortage of pundits willing to offer an opinion on that. Most observers point to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy as the crucial swing vote. Kennedy has ruled in favor of LGBT rights in the past and seems sympathetic to arguments that denial of marriage relegates gays to second-class citizenship.</p><p>But Kennedy’s vote can’t be taken for granted. In other contexts he has seemed open to states’ rights arguments and wary of overreaching federal power.</p><p>On a more practical level, a ruling allowing states to resurrect bans on same-sex marriage would spawn no small amount of chaos. Hard figures are difficult to come by, but it’s likely that thousands of same-sex couples have legally married in dozens of states where courts have invalidated bans. What would happen to these unions? What would be the status of the children living in them? Would these couples suddenly lose the many benefits married couples enjoy, or could they be somehow grandfathered in?</p><p>Conversely, a decision extending same-sex marriage nationwide would also spark fallout. It will undoubtedly lead to more litigation. Some owners of secular businesses and even government employees are insisting that they have a “religious freedom” right to deny service to same-sex couples. A high court ruling in favor of marriage equality will surely intensify that debate.</p><p>The Supreme Court is likely to hear the arguments in April with a decision to follow by the end of June. Already there is talk of how the decision, no matter which way it falls, might affect the 2016 presidential cam­paign.</p><p>One possible Republican contender, Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, has already weighed in. Speaking on a right-wing radio show Jan. 20, Huckabee echoed Alabama’s Moore with the unusual view that states can ignore Supreme Court rulings.</p><p>“One thing I am angry about though...is this notion of judicial supremacy, where if the court makes a decision, I hear governors and even some aspirants to the presidency say, ‘Well, that’s settled, it’s the law of the land,’” fumed Huckabee. “No, it’s not the law of the land.”</p><p>The case is also likely to attract the attention of a lot of public-interest groups. Americans United, which has weighed in on all of the same-sex marriage cases in the lower courts, will offer the Supreme Court some advice as well through a friend-of-the-court brief. </p><p>“Our bottom line is simple,” said AU’s Lynn. “Opponents of same-sex marriage have had plenty of time to come up with an argument beyond ‘The Bible says it’s wrong’ or ‘My pastor doesn’t like it.’ They haven’t been able to do it. That means they should lose.” </p></div></div><a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><h3 >Supreme Court Accepts Marriage- Equality Cases In What’s Shaping Up To Be An Epic ‘Culture War’&nbsp;Battle</h3><div class="field field-name-field-cs-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Featured</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/marriage-including-same-sex-marriage">Marriage (including same-sex Marriage)</a></span></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-issue field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Magazine Issue:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><article id="node-10903" class="node node-church-state-issue clearfix">
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<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/featured/same-sex-showdown">Same-Sex Showdown</a></h3>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/perspective/moore-nonsense-au-gears-up-to-battle-an-old-foe">Moore Nonsense: AU Gears Up To Battle An Old Foe</a></span> </div></li>
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<ul class="cs-department-list"> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/editorial/assailing-the-states-legislatures-become-labs-for-the">Assailing The States: Legislatures Become Labs For The Far Right</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/editorial/tax-aid-for-religious-bias-that-s-truly-gravely-evil">Tax Aid For Religious Bias: That’s Truly ‘Gravely Evil’ </a></span> </div></li>
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</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/lgbt-rights">LGBT rights</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix long-label"><div class="field-label">Religious Right Organization:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/resources/religious-right/family-research-council">Family Research Council</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix long-label"><div class="field-label">Religious Right People:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/resources/religious-right/tony-perkins">Tony Perkins</a></span></div></div>Mon, 02 Mar 2015 15:15:00 +0000Timothy Ritz10904 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/church-state/march-2015-church-state/featured/same-sex-showdown#commentsMoore Nonsense: AU Gears Up To Battle An Old Foehttps://www.au.org/church-state/march-2015-church-state/perspective/moore-nonsense-au-gears-up-to-battle-an-old-foe
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Alabama’s Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy S. Moore is a crackpot. There, I’ve said it.</p><p>I like to be a polite person, but this man’s behavior is so beyond the pale, I can’t think of any other way to put it. Why? Let me count the ways.</p><p>Judge Moore was the belligerent jurist who in 2001, shortly after his election as chief justice, erected a two-and-one-half ton monument containing his favorite version of the Ten Commandments in the state Judicial Building. </p><p>Americans United sued him and won. Moore was ordered to remove the religious display by a federal appeals court, but he refused to do so. This eventually led to an ethics challenge and ultimately his removal by a unanimous vote of his fellow justices. </p><p>Unfortunately, Moore was not disbarred and in 2012 he ran successfully for election to his old post. In the interim, he apparently didn’t learn any useful lessons. As reported in <em>The Washington Post,</em> Moore told supporters that his successful campaign was actually a “vindication” of his philosophy.</p><p>Moore is now back in the headlines for issuing an order to all of Alabama’s probate judges not to sign any marriage licenses for same-sex couples. This directive came in spite of a federal court order that gave gay and lesbian citizens of Alabama the right to be married effective Feb. 9.</p><p>Moore’s latest “power grab” – or stunt – is based on an inherently ridiculous view of the Constitution, which is remarkably similar to the arguments he made in our Ten Commandments battle more than a decade ago. </p><p>That view is a combination of bad theology, warped history and offensive states’ rights claims straight out of pre-Civil War America. This view has been universally rejected by the courts (correction: legitimate courts, not ones run by Moore).</p><p>First, Moore believes that United States law is inextricably linked to biblical law. As he wrote in <em>Hicks v. Ala­bama</em>: “Although not the source of our rights, governments are instituted in order to ‘secure these rights’ given by God.” </p><p>This is, of course, totally erroneous. For example, the fact that there were initially 10 amendments to the Constitution (the Bill of Rights) and there are, biblically speaking, an equal number of really big commandments does not mean they are linked in any way. There is no parallel between the this law and Christian scripture, except for prohibitions against murder, theft and (under some circumstances) lying under oath.</p><p>Similarly, when explaining the significance of federal court rulings to state matters, Moore repeatedly asserts (again) that the federal courts have limited, if any, authority over the state’s own interpretations of law. </p><p>This view effectively equates the language of the 10th Amendment to a nullification of federal constitutional standards. Once popular, this interpretation became a non-starter after the passage of constitutional amendments following the Civil War.</p><p>Not only are these views completely inconsistent with the weight of authority supporting marriage equality (an issue to be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court this term), they were resoundingly viewed as anarchic by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in our Ten Commandments case.</p><p>“The clear implication of Chief Justice Moore’s argument is that no government official who heads one of the three branches of any state or of the federal government, and takes an oath of office to defend the Constitution, as all of them do, is subject to the order of any court, at least not of any federal court below the Supreme Court,” the court declared.</p><p>If Moore’s view were given credence, it would mean that the federal courts were wrong when they rejected the states’ rights arguments advanced by George C. Wallace, the infamous segregationist governor of Alabama. Wallace, you may recall, sought to prohibit racial integration of the state’s public schools.</p><p>By the end of the day of Feb. 9, an astonishing percentage of Alabama probate judges had refused to issue licenses, claiming they were disturbed by the “conflict” between the federal court ruling to start issuing them and Moore’s memo. (Things may have changed by the time you read this.)</p><p>Moore suggested to one interviewer that he would never allow his employees (technically that is what these probate judges are) to sign marriage licenses for same-sex couples no matter what any federal court said, including the Supreme Court.</p><p>He has even indicated that he may be willing to go to jail for his beliefs. “They [the Supreme Court] can’t rule your conscience,” he said.</p><p>President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to Alabama to straighten out Gov. Wallace. I hope it doesn’t take that much to bring Moore around, but if he continues to deny Alabama residents their basic rights, I have no problem with the FBI helping cart him off to prison.</p><p> </p><p><em>Barry W. Lynn is executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. </em></p><p> </p></div></div><a href="/about/people/barry-lynn-0">Barry Lynn</a><div class="field field-name-field-cs-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Perspective</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/marriage-including-same-sex-marriage">Marriage (including same-sex Marriage)</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-issue field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Magazine Issue:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><article id="node-10903" class="node node-church-state-issue clearfix">
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<h2><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state">
The <span class="cs-month field">March</span> <span class="cs-year field"><span class="date-display-single">2015</span></span> issue of <em>Church &amp; State</em>
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<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/featured/same-sex-showdown">Same-Sex Showdown</a></h3>
<h4>Supreme Court Accepts Marriage- Equality Cases In What’s Shaping Up To Be An Epic ‘Culture War’ Battle</h4> </div>
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<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/featured/symbols-and-civil-religion">Symbols and Civil Religion</a></h3>
<h4>Courts Have Tended To Uphold ‘Ceremonial’ Uses Of Religion By The Government, But Critics Say It’s Time To Reassess</h4> </div>
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<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/featured/undue-influence">Undue Influence</a></h3>
<h4>Catholic Church’s Role In U.S.-Cuba Deal Highlights Pope Francis’ Growing Diplomatic Clout</h4> </div>
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<div class="cs-department" id="section-au-bulletin"> <h3>AU Bulletin</h3>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/texas-rep-asks-muslims-to-take-loyalty-oath">Texas Rep. Asks Muslims To Take Loyalty Oath</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/around-the-world-iceland-debates-future-of">Around The World: Iceland Debates Future Of Blasphemy Law</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/church-politicking-bill-introduced-in-congress">Church Politicking Bill Introduced In Congress </a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/ohio-drops-faith-based-requirement-for-schools">Ohio Drops Faith-Based Requirement For Schools</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/miss-school-attempts-to-block-gay-straight-alliance">Miss. School Attempts To Block Gay-Straight Alliance</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/sd-creationism-bill-dies-in-committee">S.D. Creationism Bill Dies In Committee</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/scientologist-drug-education-enters-ny-public">Scientologist Drug Education Enters N.Y. Public Schools</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/okla-legislator-seeks-to-outlaw-marriage-for">Okla. Legislator Seeks To Outlaw Marriage For Atheists</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/people-events/ala-chief-justice-urges-defiance-of-same-sex">Ala. Chief Justice Urges Defiance Of Same-Sex Marriage Ruling</a></span> </div></li>
<li class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/people-events/ny-vaccination-requirement-upheld-over-parents">NY Vaccination Requirement Upheld Over Parents’ Religious Objections</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/people-events/flap-over-michigan-city-cross-may-affect-local">Flap Over Michigan City Cross May Affect Local Council Elections</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/people-events/supreme-court-rules-for-ark-prisoner-in-dispute">Supreme Court Rules For Ark. Prisoner In Dispute Over Beard </a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/people-events/ky-creationist-ministry-files-lawsuit-over-tax">Ky. Creationist Ministry Files Lawsuit Over Tax Funding For ‘Ark Park’ </a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/people-events/americans-united-responds-to-pro-voucher-forces">Americans United Responds To Pro-Voucher Forces’ ‘School Choice Week’</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/people-events/residents-of-la-town-hold-rally-calling-for">Residents Of La. Town Hold Rally Calling For Official School Prayer </a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/people-events/la-governor-speaks-at-religious-right-hosted">La. Governor Speaks At Religious Right-Hosted Evangelical Prayer Rally </a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/perspective/moore-nonsense-au-gears-up-to-battle-an-old-foe">Moore Nonsense: AU Gears Up To Battle An Old Foe</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/editorial/assailing-the-states-legislatures-become-labs-for-the">Assailing The States: Legislatures Become Labs For The Far Right</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/editorial/tax-aid-for-religious-bias-that-s-truly-gravely-evil">Tax Aid For Religious Bias: That’s Truly ‘Gravely Evil’ </a></span> </div></li>
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</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/roy-moore">Roy Moore</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/lgbt-rights">LGBT rights</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ten-commandments">ten commandments</a></span></div></div>Mon, 02 Mar 2015 15:15:00 +0000Timothy Ritz10908 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/church-state/march-2015-church-state/perspective/moore-nonsense-au-gears-up-to-battle-an-old-foe#commentsTax Aid For Religious Bias: That’s Truly ‘Gravely Evil’ https://www.au.org/church-state/march-2015-church-state/editorial/tax-aid-for-religious-bias-that-s-truly-gravely-evil
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>San Francisco Roman Catholic Arch­bishop Salvatore Cordileone has just released a list of “gravely evil” acts that all teachers and staff at parochial schools in the area must avoid.</p><p>The lists includes: premarital sex, homosexuality, viewing pornography, donating sperm, artificial insemination and certain sex acts.</p><p>As part of their new contract, teachers at Catholic schools will be required to “demonstrate a public life consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church” if they want to keep their jobs.</p><p>As private entities, Catholic schools have the right to impose rigid rules like this. But the propagation of such a list – which is, let’s face it, pretty out of touch with reality – is a reminder that sectarian schools play by very different rules than public ones.</p><p>It’s also a reminder of why these schools shouldn’t get one dime of taxpayer support. In a sectarian school, a teacher can be fired for any number of “moral” offenses. Catholic schools have fired teachers who got pregnant out of wedlock or teachers who came out as gay. They’ve even fired straight teachers for publicly supporting LGBTQ rights through personal channels like Facebook.</p><p>In a letter Cordileone sent to Cath­olic schools, he reminded faculty and staff “to avoid contradicting church teaching on these issues either in the school or in some public way outside the classroom.”</p><p>Translation: If you have gay friends and go their wedding or express support for gay rights in a tweet, you’re fired. If you march in a pro-choice event, you’re fired. If you join a national organization that the church doesn’t approve of, you’re fired.</p><p>And you would have precious little recourse. With a few exceptions, courts have generally not been sympathetic to lawsuits filed by teachers at religious schools who are canned because they ran afoul of some point of dogma.</p><p>California doesn’t have a voucher plan, but church officials there have often lobbied for one. The matter appeared on the Golden State ballot in 2000. Voters had the good sense to reject it by 71 percent.</p><p>If Cordileone and his supporters had their way, public opinion would not matter. Their church schools, infused with a dogma so oppressive even most Catholics reject it, would be subsidized by the taxpayer – but of course there would be no protections for employees or public accountability measures.</p><p>There are a lot of things you could call an unfair system like that. “Gravely evil” comes to mind.</p></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Editorial</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/vouchers">Vouchers</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/tuition-tax-credits-and-deductions">Tuition Tax Credits and Deductions</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-government-aid-religious-schools">Other Government Aid to Religious Schools</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/workplace-discrimination-exemptions-religious-practice">In the Workplace: Discrimination, Exemptions &amp; Religious Practice</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/marriage-including-same-sex-marriage">Marriage (including same-sex Marriage)</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/reproductive-health-conscience-clauses-for-religious-objectors">Reproductive Health &amp; Conscience Clauses for Religious Objectors</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-privacy-issues-including-end-of-life-matters-etc">Other Privacy Issues (including end-of-life matters, etc.)</a></span></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-issue field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Magazine Issue:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><article id="node-10903" class="node node-church-state-issue clearfix">
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<h2><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state">
The <span class="cs-month field">March</span> <span class="cs-year field"><span class="date-display-single">2015</span></span> issue of <em>Church &amp; State</em>
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<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/featured/same-sex-showdown">Same-Sex Showdown</a></h3>
<h4>Supreme Court Accepts Marriage- Equality Cases In What’s Shaping Up To Be An Epic ‘Culture War’ Battle</h4> </div>
<div class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even">
<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/featured/symbols-and-civil-religion">Symbols and Civil Religion</a></h3>
<h4>Courts Have Tended To Uphold ‘Ceremonial’ Uses Of Religion By The Government, But Critics Say It’s Time To Reassess</h4> </div>
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<h3 class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/featured/undue-influence">Undue Influence</a></h3>
<h4>Catholic Church’s Role In U.S.-Cuba Deal Highlights Pope Francis’ Growing Diplomatic Clout</h4> </div>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/texas-rep-asks-muslims-to-take-loyalty-oath">Texas Rep. Asks Muslims To Take Loyalty Oath</a></span> </div></li>
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<ul class="cs-department-list"> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last">
<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/march-2015-church-state/viewpoint/fundamentally-extreme">Fundamentally Extreme</a></span> </div></li>
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</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/lgbt-rights">LGBT rights</a></span></div></div>Mon, 02 Mar 2015 15:15:00 +0000Timothy Ritz10910 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/church-state/march-2015-church-state/editorial/tax-aid-for-religious-bias-that-s-truly-gravely-evil#commentsMiss. School Attempts To Block Gay-Straight Alliancehttps://www.au.org/church-state/march-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/miss-school-attempts-to-block-gay-straight-alliance
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>School board officials in Rankin County, Miss., are attempting to prevent the creation of a Gay-Straight Alliance at Brandon High School.</p><p>After Brandon students requested permission to form the voluntary club, Superintendent Lynn Weathersby reportedly asked administrators and the school board’s attorney if it was possible to restrict “gay clubs” from operating in county schools.</p><p>Weathersby then introduced a requirement that students must get parental permission to participate in any club. The club’s supporters called the requirement “discriminatory.”</p><p>“It wasn’t put in place until we tried to have our club,” a student told the Jackson <em>Free Press</em>.</p><p>The American Civil Liberties Union’s Mississippi chapter also protested the new requirement. In a statement, its legal director, Charles Irvin, wrote, “Silencing ideas in a non-curricular setting because some people don’t like them is not only incompatible with the educational values of open inquiry and wide-ranging debate that are central to our free political system – it is against the law.”</p><p>But there may be good news for Brandon students: Brandon’s principal recently mailed a letter to two students asking for further information about the club, including by-laws and proposed programming.</p><p> </p></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">AU Bulletin</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-issues-regarding-religion-schools-and-universities">Other Issues regarding Religion in Schools and Universities</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/outside-workplace-discrimination-exemptions-religious-practice-including-military-prisons">Outside the Workplace: Discrimination, Exemptions &amp; Religious Practice (including in the Military, Prisons, Housing, Healthcare, etc.)</a></span></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-issue field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Magazine Issue:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><article id="node-10903" class="node node-church-state-issue clearfix">
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</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/lgbt-rights">LGBT rights</a></span></div></div>Mon, 02 Mar 2015 15:15:00 +0000Timothy Ritz10913 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/church-state/march-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/miss-school-attempts-to-block-gay-straight-alliance#commentsAmericans United Will Represent Same-Sex Couples Seeking Marriage Licenses in Alabamahttps://www.au.org/media/press-releases/americans-united-will-represent-same-sex-couples-seeking-marriage-licenses-in
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Americans United for Separation of Church and State has agreed to represent four same-sex couples in Alabama who have been denied marriage licenses.<br /><br />The couples reside in Baldwin, Barbour, Houston and Lauderdale counties. Each couple visited the probate judge in their respective county to request a marriage license, but all were denied.<br /><br />Americans United sent a letter to each probate judge today. <a href="/files/pdf_documents/Alabama-Probate-Judge-Letters%201.07.17%20PM.pdf" target="_blank">The letters</a> warn the judges not to follow a memo issued by Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who has ordered probate judges not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.<br /><br />“[Y]our obligation to comply with the federal Constitution – which has now been interpreted to forbid discrimination against same-sex couples with respect to the issuance of marriage licenses – must take precedence over any contrary state laws or obligations,” reads the letter. “As administrative head of the Alabama judicial system, the Chief Justice is empowered to take appropriate action in administering that system, but he is assuredly not empowered to contravene the federal constitution or to direct others to do so.”<br /><br />U.S. District Judge Callie V. Granade struck down Alabama’s ban on same-sex marriage last month. A federal appeals court later refused to stay the ruling, as did the U.S. Supreme Court, clearing the way for same-sex marriages in the state.<br /><br />“Local judges simply can’t override rulings by a federal court,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “What’s going on in Alabama is an outrage, and it has to stop.”<br /><br />Ayesha N. Khan, Americans United’s legal director, noted that Granade, whose court is based in Mobile, will hold a hearing on Thursday regarding whether Mobile County’s probate judge is required to issue same-sex marriage licenses.<br /><br />“We are hopeful that Judge Granade will require the probate judge to issue same-sex marriage licenses and that other probate judges around the state will follow suit,” said Khan.<br /><br />“Whether these probate judges like it or not, same-sex couples have a legal right to marry in Alabama,” Khan added. “We would rather not sue to force these judges to do their job, but we will be forced to consider next steps if they persist in defying the federal Constitution.”<br /><br />Americans United was one of three groups that successfully sued Moore in 2001 over a Ten Commandments display at the Judicial Building in Montgomery. Moore lost that case and defied the federal courts. He was subsequently removed from the bench, although he won reelection to the slot in 2012.<br /><br />Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/marriage-including-same-sex-marriage">Marriage (including same-sex Marriage)</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/alabama">Alabama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/lgbt-rights">LGBT rights</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/same-sex-marriage">same-sex marriage</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/roy-moore">Roy Moore</a></span></div></div><h3 >Clients in Baldwin, Barbour, Houston And Lauderdale Counties Denied Licenses By Probate&nbsp;Judges</h3>Wed, 11 Feb 2015 16:58:48 +0000Timothy Ritz10880 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/media/press-releases/americans-united-will-represent-same-sex-couples-seeking-marriage-licenses-in#comments